9 comments:

When I was in grade school I "hinged" two same size mirrors with tape. Drew a straight line on a piece of paper. Told my friends I could turn that line into a circle. Sat that mirror on the line so that they became the two sides of a triangle that was formed by looking into the mirrors. As I moved the mirror pieces together, like closing a book, the reflected line "bent", becoming additional multi-sided shapes as the mirrors got closer to closing until eventually it looked to our eye like a circle. Although I think it technically was a lot of tiny line segments.

I now know there is math stuff/geometry that illustrates such a thing - and computers generate such using them. My spirograph probably did, too, lol. I, however, am not that math person. I'm sure Freeman or many others who read/post here could give you the equations/explanation.

At the time, it was a project to illustrate something from a book we were reading. I remember being surprised no one else thought it worth testing what this one character said about doing such a thing.

I once had a college professor who did "close-up" magic in class. He'd stand directly in front of you, hold in his hand one foot from your face a rubber ball or a playing card, and manipulate its appearance and disappearance so well that it appeared truly supernatural. He used this as a technique of introducing the idea of scientific doubt about sensory observations to his students, and it worked.

He also added, "And this is why you should never, ever, play cards for money with strangers." Lessons for life, learned in college!